After a nearly three-month blackout, the Weather Channel will be back on DirecTV's program lineup as of Wednesday, after the companies reached a new programming agreement. Helping swing the deal was an unlikely player: Hilton Hotels.

DirecTV retreated from its demand for a significant cut to the fees it was paying the Weather Channel, instead agreeing to a slight increase, according to a person familiar with the deal. Mostly its change of heart was due to its interest in another business deal: becoming the...